How To Grow Your Hair Faster: 5 Tips Worth Trying

We’ve all been there: Standing in front of the bathroom mirror after a haircut gone awry, furiously scouring the internet for hair growth hacks. While you might want to know how to grow your hair faster, there’s no overnight fix for a bad haircut (other than another haircut). There are, however, things that you can do to help support healthy hair growth. But with so much information to sift through, it’s easy to get overwhelmed in a whirlwind of open tabs, myths, and scientific terms you can’t even pronounce. Want to cut to the chase and find out how to make your hair grow faster? Keep reading—ahead, we’re sharing the truth about speeding up hair growth and dishing out our tip tips for growing a strong, long, healthy-looking mane.

Can You Grow Your Hair Faster?

Whether or not you can grow your hair faster is the subject of much debate, and unfortunately, there isn’t one definitive answer. The rate at which hair grows can be influenced by a whole host of factors, including your age, genetics, lifestyle, and haircare habits.

Understanding hair growth

According to the Cleveland Clinic, hair growth follows a natural cycle with three main phases: anagen, catagen, and telogen. The anagen phase is the active growth stage, lasting two to seven years, where hair grows steadily. During this phase, your hair can grow about one centimeter (or half an inch) per month. The catagen phase is a transitional period lasting a few weeks, where growth slows down, and the hair follicle shrinks. Finally, the telogen phase is a resting phase that lasts around three months, after which hair naturally sheds, and new strands begin to grow. So how fast does hair grow, exactly? All in all, the Cleveland Clinic notes, most healthy adults can expect their hair to grow between four and six inches per year. However, the exact speed at which your hair grows may vary depending on your age, genetics, and lifestyle.

Do Hair Growth Vitamins Work?

Go to the vitamin aisle at any drugstore, and you’re likely to see vitamins designed to promote hair growth. Usually, they contain biotin, a B vitamin touted for its ability to help support healthy hair, skin, and nails. While the idea of taking a vitamin for hair growth sounds intriguing, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) notes that there’s little evidence to support the claim, particularly in healthy adults.

It’s important to note that there are certain vitamin deficiencies that can lead to hair loss (iron and vitamin D being among the most common). If your hair isn’t growing as fast as it once did, or you’re noticing much more shedding than usual, consult your doctor. They can help determine if an underlying vitamin deficiency or health concern is to blame and work with you to figure out the best course of action. If you’re simply looking to speed up the recovery after a botched haircut, there’s little to do but wait.

5 Tips For Hair Growth

If you want to help support your hair as it grows, you’ll want to adopt a healthy haircare and scalp care routine. While this won’t affect how quickly your hair grows per se, the right routine can create the optimal environment for hair growth. And if breakage is getting in the way of your long hair goals, the right haircare routine can help with that, too. Here, find five of our top tips for growing strong, healthy-looking hair.

Hair growth tip #1: Start with scalp care

Healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp. To keep your scalp in tip-top shape, we recommend adding a scalp exfoliant to your routine once or twice per week. The L’Oréal Paris Elvive Hyaluron + Pure Oil-Erasing Serum is a great pick, particularly for those with oily hair or product buildup. The non-stripping formula with hyaluronic acid and salicylic acid helps remove up to 100 percent of residue to leave the scalp feeling purified and refreshed for up to 72 hours. To use it, section your (dry) hair and apply the fluid formula directly to your scalp. Massage it in for about five minutes, then wait an additional 15 minutes before rinsing your hair. After rinsing, you can shampoo and condition your hair as usual—we suggest using the coordinating L’Oréal Paris Hyaluron + Pure Purifying Shampoo and L’Oréal Paris Hyaluron + Pure 72H Rehydrating Conditioner for the best results.

Hair growth tip #2: Use a strengthening haircare system

If you’re aiming for longer, stronger hair, consider swapping your usual haircare products for a system designed to promote strong, resilient strands. We recommend the L’Oréal Paris EverPure Bond Repair System, which features a strengthening pre-shampoo treatment, a gentle shampoo, a nourishing conditioner, and a protective leave-in treatment. When used together, this powerful four-piece helps to reinforce brittle, damaged hair from the inside out, leaving it softer, smoother, and up to seven times stronger. The system is also color-safe, so you don’t have to worry about it affecting your all-over color or highlights.

Hair growth tip #3: Trim regularly

While we can’t tell you how to make hair grow faster, we can clue you in on a way to help it appear as if it’s growing more quickly: regular haircuts. If you think it’s counterproductive to cut your strands if you’re trying to grow them out, think again. In order to promote healthy hair growth, go for regular trims—they’ll help remove any split or fraying ends that can contribute to breakage. Aim for a small trim every eight to 12 weeks to help keep split ends at bay.

Hair growth tip #4: Cut back on heat styling

We love a bouncy blowout as much as the next person, but frequent heat styling can damage your strands, leaving them more vulnerable to split ends and breakage. If you blow-dry or otherwise heat style your hair every day and find that your strands can’t seem to grow past a certain length, consider cutting back (there are plenty of heatless hairstyles you can turn to for a chic everyday look). If you have to use heat on your strands, be sure to prep your mane well with a quality heat protectant first. The L’Oréal Paris EverPure Sulfate-Free Moisture 21-in-1 Leave-in-Conditioner is an excellent option. The color-safe formula helps protect against temperatures up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit so you can style your hair sans unnecessary damage. It also detangles, smooths, moisturizes, and adds shine (who doesn’t love a multi-tasker?). We also love the L’Oréal Paris Dream Lengths Heat Slayer Leave-In, which tames frizz and helps seal split ends while protecting against heat damage.

Hair growth tip #5: Rock protective hairstyles

Protective hairstyles do just as their name suggests—protect your strands from constant manipulation that can lead to damage and breakage. When choosing a protective style, keep in mind that the looser, the better: tight, high-tension hairstyles can damage your hair follicles, potentially leading to hair loss, per the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Loose plaits are ideal for finer, straighter hair, while two-strand twists and box braids are great options for those with natural hair.

Common Hair Growth Myths Debunked

When you’re trying to learn how to grow hair faster, there are a few myths you’re likely to come across. Here, we’re sharing a few of the most common—and the truth behind the oft-repeated claims.

• Cutting hair makes it grow faster: While trimming your hair regularly helps maintain its health and keeps split ends under control, it doesn’t actually speed up hair growth. The rate at which your hair grows is determined by genetics and overall health. Regular cuts simply help keep your hair looking healthy and help address split ends that can lead to breakage.
• Brushing your hair 100 times per day will make it grow more quickly: False. While brushing your hair helps distribute natural oils from your scalp to your ends, excessive brushing can weaken the hair and cause more harm than good. A gentle, limited brushing routine is the best way to avoid damage while keeping hair smooth. In fact, the AAD recommends only brushing your hair when styling it—if you have knots, use a wide-toothed comb to detangle it.
• Shampooing less makes hair grow faster: A clean, healthy scalp provides the best environment for hair growth. While you don’t need to wash your hair every day, shampooing regularly helps ensure your scalp remains free from buildup that can clog hair follicles or lead to scalp concerns like dryness and flaking.

Next Up: How To Find Out Your Scalp Type

Photo courtesy of L’Oréal Paris